February 23, 2015 - Mayor Tom Henry today announced the City of Fort Wayne has completed phase two of the transition to City Utilities water for customers in southwest Fort Wayne.
Officials from Lutheran Hospital, several local businesses, and residents joined Mayor Henry for today’s progress report on the City’s efforts and highlight the importance of water pressure, quality, and reliability for public health and public safety.
With the completion of phase two, 4,500 customers are now connected to City water.
“To be a City where people want to live and businesses want to grow, we must have a water infrastructure that’s built for the future to meet the needs of our community,” said Mayor Henry. “We’re building on our momentum as we provide residents and businesses with essential services to keep us healthy and safe.”
“It’s hard to overstate how important water is to our ability to provide high-level patient care and a pleasant environment for visitors and staff,” said Brian Bauer, CEO, Lutheran Health Network and Lutheran Hospital. “Much like backup generators for electricity, having water supplied to this campus from two different sources means any future disruption of service in this area will be less likely to restrict our normal operations. On behalf of the largest payer of local taxes in the City of Fort Wayne, Lutheran Health Network applauds the mayor and everyone with city utilities for their leadership with this project.”
The work to connect customers in Phase 3 will begin soon. By the second week of March, it’s expected that residents in Phase 3A, located south of Aboite Center Road in the neighborhoods of Plantations of Aboite, Aboite Lake Estates, Haverhill, North Shores, and The Shores will be connected to City water.
The remaining customers will be connected through the summer and fall. Construction of connecting pipes is currently underway on Bass Road, Branstrator Road, Feighner Road, and Smith Road.
In all, more than 13,000 customers will have City water by the end of the year.
Also joining Mayor Henry at today’s celebration, making a toast with “City Water,” were James Reecer of Reecer Property Management; Pone Vongphachanh with the Upstate Alliance of REALTORS; Liz Fredrick, from the Hamlets Neighborhood Association; and Beulah Metczak, a neighborhood member and Michael Numbers, business member of the Aqua Transition Advisory Group.
In December 2014, the City and Aqua Indiana signed the final documents to complete the City’s purchase of Aqua’s water system in southwest Fort Wayne. All customers in the area began receiving the lower bills from City Utilities the day the sale was completed.
Additional Information about the transition to City water can be found at www.cityoffortwayne.org/aquatransition.